Business newsmakers

Sunday

Nov 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM

SMCU earns Educational

SMCU earns Educational

Leadership Award

NEW BEDFORD — Southern Mass Credit Union was recognized with the 2013 Education Leadership Award by the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce during the Chamber's 127th Annual Meeting & Business Luncheon, which was held on November 14, 2013.

This award recognizes one local area business or organization each year that has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving educational opportunities for students in the South Coast region. The recipient of the award is selected by a committee from the Chamber's Greater New Bedford Connecting Activities Partnership.

Southern Mass Credit Union was selected for the prestigious award for its mission of investing in the community through educational partnerships that help secure the future of the region's youth.

This past school year, Southern Mass Credit Union took part in the Greater New Bedford Connecting Activities Partnership as they hosted a local student at its Fairhaven High School branch. This internship opportunity allowed the student to both observe and take part in the daily operations of a fully functional credit union.

Rose Ferreira and Vanessa Franklin of Southern Mass Credit Union also helped volunteer for the Chamber's very successful CHOICES Dropout Prevention workshop this past spring at Roosevelt Middle School in New Bedford. The CHOICES program engages participating students through real-world exercises on academic self-discipline, time and money management, and goal setting.

Southern Mass Credit Union also launched a successful "CU for Reality" Fair last spring at Fairhaven High School.

In addition, the institution also has a very helpful, interactive "youth section" on their website, which helps guide local students of all grade levels in the areas of financial literacy.

Community Nurse and Hospice care honored

FAIRHAVEN — Community Nurse & Hospice Care is celebrating National Home Care and Hospice Month as the agency itself is being celebrated on a state and national level having recently received the 2013 Boston Globe Top Places to Work in Massachusetts (mid-sized companies), the 2013 HomeCare Elite Top 500 Agencies in the United States based on patient outcome and Fazzi's Top 25 agencies recognizing excellence in patient satisfaction nationwide.

The Boston Globe's 2013 Top Places to Work survey, conducted by employee survey firm WorkplaceDynamics, measured employee responses to statements regarding six key factors related to employee happiness: including company direction, execution, employee connection, work load and responsibility, management and pay and benefits. Community Nurse & Hospice Care is proud to represent our region as the only company in southeastern Massachusetts to be recognized on this list.

Community Nurse & Hospice Care was named to the Top 500 of the 2013HomeCare Elite", a listing recognizing the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Now in its eighth year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies in the country and signals out the top 500 agencies overall. Agencies are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality patient outcomes, best practices, patient experience, quality improvement and consistency and financial performance. Nearly 10,000 agencies across the country are considered. Community Nurse & Hospice Care is one of only 20 Massachusetts agencies to appear on the overall list and the home care agency in southeastern Massachusetts to be included.

Agencies, like Community Nurse & Hospice Care, which are named as Fazzi's HHCAHPS Top 25 are proven leaders that have excelled in one of the most important measures of an agency's quality program— patient satisfaction. These agencies have scored in the top 25% of Fazzi's National Patient Satisfaction database for the Overall Satisfaction and Likelihood of Recommending survey questions. Fazzi Associates is one of the oldest, largest and most respected organizations of its kind dedicated to home care and hospice. Founded in 1978 by Dr. Robert Fazzi, we focus on helping home health and hospice agencies solve their core industry challenges through our coding services, consulting, benchmarking, training and national research projects.

"As we are in the business of taking care of people, to be named one of the 2013 Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe, to earn a spot on the HomeCare Elite Top 500 agency list and to be included in the Fazzi Top 25 tells a great story." according to Jane Stankiewicz, President & CEO, "Employee satisfaction equals exceptional patient outcomes. Exceptional employees lead to the very best care for our patients. It's the a support of our community and the dedication, compassion and hard work of our employees that makes Community Nurse & Hospice Care the top choice for home care in our region. I am very proud of the quality care we bring home to this region."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.